Halter



Feb. 11, 1930. c, JOHNSON 1,747,012

HALTER Filed Oct. 10, 1928 Patented Feb. 11, 1930 UNITED STATES ORVILLE C. JOHNSON, OF AURORA, ILLINOIS HALTER Application filed October 10, 1928. Serial No. 311,543.

This invention relates to a halter for animals and more particularly to a halter com-' tion of a halter made of rope and fittings which can be easily, applied to the head of an animal and which will be capable of adjustment to form a shapely halter and fit the head of the particular animal. To this end the halter is composed of rope and fittings, some of which are capable of movement upon the rope topermit of a series of adjustments contributing to a final shaping and fitting of the halter. Another object of the invention is the production of a suitable fitting which will permit of a secure holding of the nose band in proper position and also provide means for the attachment of a lead line while at the same time allowing a sliding movement of the nose band with respect to the throat section of the halter.

Other objects of the invention will herein ot the short length of rope 10 and an inter-- mediate loop portion 11 of "a much longer length of rope. These two are joined together by the permanent fittings 12 and 13 to form a circular opening which is adapted to be passed over the nose and mouth of the animal and encircle the lower animals head.

The loop portion 11 after leaving the fittings 12 and 13 is extended upwardly to form the cheek pieces let and 15. The check piece 14 passes through the permanent fitting 16 up and over the neck of the animal to the fitting 17 where-it islooped in said fitting 17 and caused to pass again over the neck of the animal to the permanent fitting'16. It is not, however, secured directly to the perportionof the the novel features thereof will be particularly manent fitting 16, but is passed through a buckle 18 which buckle is secured to the said fitting 16 in a manner to be hereinafter de scribed.

The cheek piece 15 after leaving the fitting 13 extends to the fitting 17 where it is looped as at 19 and extends downwardly adjacent the animals jaw to form a jaw section 20. It then passes through the fitting 21 and extends along the throat portion of the animal to form a section 22 where it is looped in the fitting 23 and extends reversely along the throat to form the section 24, again through the fitting 21 to form the jaw section 25 and into the permanent fitting 16. The buckle 18 is held between the cheek section 14 and the end of the aw section 25 in the fitting 16 in such a manner as to have the necessary movement to permit of a manipulation of the rope end in said buckle. The one fitting 16 therefore serves the purpose of uniting permanently the one end of the rope to the main body thereof and of also supporting one end of the buckle 18. For this purpose the fitting 16 is formed of a recessed back with the four clamping prongs. The recess in the back of the fitting is provided for'the pur pose of permitting the buckle to be held in said fitting between two rope sections. Since the two strands of rope constituting the head section 25 are in one piece, looped in the fitting 17 an adjustment of the length of this end of the rope will cause a lengthening or shortening of this head section to bring the nose piece sufliciently high upon the animals head to be effective and to avoid loose ness at that point. To accomplish this it will be appreciated that while this looped portion is held securely in the fitting 17 it may be removed readily to secure the necessary facility for buckle adjustment orunhaltering of the animal. As the rope portion is replaced in the fitting 17 it will be held securely therein with a minimum only of movement of the fitting within said loop.

The fitting 21 is a buckle through which the two strands of the throat section 22 may pass to lengthen or shorten said throat section and at the same time shorten or lengthen both of the jaw sections 20 and 25. Addition to the nose section.

tional adjustment of these jaw sections is accomplished by looping the rope between the sections and whereby these two sect-ions may be adjusted with respect to each other. The nose band composed of the sections 10 and 11, and the cheek section 14, are the only portions of the halter which are incapable of enlargement or lengthening. The neck section '28 is capable of being lengthened'or shortened, whereby the halter may be made generally larger or smaller.- But this single adjustment would be ineifective in fitting the halter to another animal with a somewhat different shape of head, as it would be appreciated that such an adjustment might easily bring the nose band rather high upon the 'animals head with a considerable fullness' in the aw and throat sections.

It is the further adjustments set forth which accomplish a reshaping of the halter to the new contour of head; and these further adjustments are such as will enable the holster to make each of the parts 15, 20, 25, 22 and 24.- of their proper relative lengths.

The lead fitting has been designed so that it will be held to the nose section frictionally, yet permit play or adjustment of that nose section through it. While the nose section may be clamped by the looped portion of the sections 22 and 24, the clamping action is not such as to permanently hold the throat sec- This is done to avoid a distortion or displacing of the halter upon the animals head in case a strong pull backward of the animal were to occur. It will be appreciated that the fitting 23 will slide along the lower portion of the throat section before it will grip sufiiciently tight to cause a displacement of the halter on the head of the animal. I

It is important in a halter to have the jaw sections 20 and 25 fall just behind the jaw bone of the animal and when'there is a pull backward by the animal these sections are designed to bring pressure against the fleshy part of the animals throat just behind the jaw bone. Pressure at this tender point'accomplishes a very beneficial result in the control of the animal. 7

But to secure this result the halter must be properly fitted to the animal and be capable of manipulation when in use without seriously distorting or displacing the several parts when a sudden pull occurs. To that end the halter has been made of the several sections hereinbefo-re enumerated and of the fittings herein mentioned, some of which permit of no adjustment; others are designedfor complete adjustability; and one of the fittings, 23, designed for actual slipping between portions of the halter under excessive pulls.

' From the foregoing it will be appreciated .that;a pull on the lead 23.-s.uch as a horse :x vouldiexert in pullingback on his halter hump is not merely a bend between. the loop section 29 and the neck 27 It is formed with a: shoulder portion 30 and it maintains the .two loops in planes at an angle of more than 90. It is at one and the same time a .0013- forming fitting, a sliding mount for the throat portions 22 and 24 on the nose portion ofthe halter, and a lead line fitting. It' will be appreciated that the loop' 26 has been designed for the attachment of a lead line, that the hump is so made as to form a pocket to receive the rope 31 constituting the under section of the nose portion of the halter, and

that the loop 29'has been designed to have thei two strands of the throat portion passed through it with the bite portion of the loop resting upon the shoulder 30 of the fitting. lVhen the parts are in this position there is just enough space between the hump and theloop of the rope to cause a frictional binding on the rope 31 against the loop but not enough to prevent the sliding of the nose portion with respect to the throat portion when a 'pressure of considerable size is exerted"- through the lead line. It will also be appreciated that there isno danger of, wear in sufficient amount to'cause a severance of either rope 31 or loop between sections 22 and 24.

Not onlydoes this fitting so formed in the peculiar manner described accomplish the several purposes set forth when used in a halter of the type outlined herein, but it is a fitting which can be easily cast and which does not in any wise bind excessively or injure in operation a halter. --It has not only the several functions but it has a certain capability of manufacture and amode of operation whereby the rope is protected as well as the animal upon whichitis used.

The fitting 17 employed as an element of the halter disclosed herein, is the invention of Nathan F. Green, and is fully described and claimed in his application for patent co-pending herewith, Serial Number 316,050,

filed October 30, 1928, for halter fitting.

From the foregoing it will be clearly appreciated that the halter of this application is a very simple one, but is capable of considerable refinements and adjustments to produce a shapely halter upon' any animal j on which it may be used, and asecure one.

What is claimed is:

1. In a halter made up of rope andfittings,

a nose band, cheek sections, jaw sections, a throat section and a neck section, said several sections being relatively adjustable to fit the halter to the head of the animal, said adjustment comprising a buckle in said neck sec tion, a combined fastener between said neck section and one check and one jaw section, said combined fastener consisting of two adjusting loop forming members, a buckle between the jaw sections and the throat section, and a loop-forming fitting uniting the nose band to said throat section, which will hold these parts in firm contact while permitting slipping under abnormal conditions.

2. In a halter made up of rope and fittings, a nose band, cheek sections, extended from the sides of said nose band, one cheek section being passed over the neck and formed into an adjusting loop, then repassed over the neck where it is held in a buckle at the side of the head to the body of the cheek section, the companion cheek section forming a second adjusting loop at the opposite side of the head, then extended to form a jaw section, through a buckle at the lower throat and forward to form a third adjusting loop, then extended rearwardly through the throat buckle and upwardly to form a second. jaw section when it'is attached to the first mentioned cheek section in proximity to said side buckle, the first and second mentioned adjusting loops being united by a combined fastener, and the third mentioned adjusting loop being fitted to the nose band to permit of a sliding movement therewith only under abnormal conditions.

3. A halter fitting comprising a neck, a hump and an eye, the eye and hump constituting a loop former, while a recess is provided upon the under face of the hump for the retention of a rope strand between the hump and the formed loop.

4. The fitting of claim 3 in which a lead loop is provided at the opposite end of the fitting.

5. A halter fitting comprising a neck hav ing at one end thereof means for attachment to a lead line and at the opposite end a hump, presenting on one side of the fitting a shoulder and on the opposite side a recess, and an eye attached to said hump.

In testimony whereof I atfix my signature.

ORVILLE C. JOHNSON; 

